I sanded my pine floorboards and applied the first two coats of floor varnish. I was browsing online for 600 grit sanding discs to sand between each coat. I found 600 grit discs described as 'Sanding Sheets 150mm - 600 Grit - Black (Stone)' http://www.tooled-up.com/product/bo...DMLtlNav1t_nA0aMrNDJWImu8JiPgTt5r4iihgrw_wcB. Are these suitable for fine sanding of the floor varnish? if not, could you please directt me to a source that sells the correct discs?
Sanding discs
- Thread starter Yukster
- Start date
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I think that you may be headed in the wrong direction here. Those 600 grit discs are described as "for stone" because they are being marketed at those who are polishing stone.
I am not an expert on redoing floors, but I have refinished 4 (or 5, can't recall exactly) with pleasing results. All of your sanding on the floor boards should have already accomplished the surface flattening you want prior to the first coat of varnish.
After the first coat of varnish, you would have found that the grain was sealed and there might have been a slight raise/rise here and there. I've found a light sand with around a 120 grit can be helpful if there are obvious problems, in particular if you found that you failed to really clear all the dust prior to that first coat. Then, give it a good wipe down with a damp cloth and lay on the second coat. (No real harm if your first sand is after the second coat.)
Between the second and third varnish coats, I've never used anything other than around a 240 grit. The goal is much like with gloss painting, which is to flatten, de-nib and provide slight key for the next coat. And, again, like glossing, you then need to wipe down with a damp cloth and follow with a tack cloth if you have some.
Also, I wouldn't personally be looking for sanding discs. Even with fine grits, I find it is just too easy to dig in an edge and wind up marking into the surface when using a disc sander -- they are just too aggressive as they spin. If you want to use power tools, I'd suggest a lower powered random or orbital sheet sander. Don't worry, even by hand, the varnish will come away easily enough with the sand paper.
Anyway, others may do things differently, but this has worked well for me in the past.
Enjoy your floors!
I am not an expert on redoing floors, but I have refinished 4 (or 5, can't recall exactly) with pleasing results. All of your sanding on the floor boards should have already accomplished the surface flattening you want prior to the first coat of varnish.
After the first coat of varnish, you would have found that the grain was sealed and there might have been a slight raise/rise here and there. I've found a light sand with around a 120 grit can be helpful if there are obvious problems, in particular if you found that you failed to really clear all the dust prior to that first coat. Then, give it a good wipe down with a damp cloth and lay on the second coat. (No real harm if your first sand is after the second coat.)
Between the second and third varnish coats, I've never used anything other than around a 240 grit. The goal is much like with gloss painting, which is to flatten, de-nib and provide slight key for the next coat. And, again, like glossing, you then need to wipe down with a damp cloth and follow with a tack cloth if you have some.
Also, I wouldn't personally be looking for sanding discs. Even with fine grits, I find it is just too easy to dig in an edge and wind up marking into the surface when using a disc sander -- they are just too aggressive as they spin. If you want to use power tools, I'd suggest a lower powered random or orbital sheet sander. Don't worry, even by hand, the varnish will come away easily enough with the sand paper.
Anyway, others may do things differently, but this has worked well for me in the past.
Enjoy your floors!
Ta kgk for your detailed reply. The floorboards were even and smooth before I applied the first coat of varnish. The floor was not completely smooth after the second coat because I didn't clear up the dust properly. I previously used 240 grit discs and it took off just a bit too much varnish. I guess i should have used sand paper instead... but since i got the 600 grit discs for wood already, I'll try them with my Dewalt D26410 Random Orbital Sander and report back. Cheers
What I found with the first floor I did was that I wanted to over sand between coats. Quite predictably, I went too far. Not a big deal. But depending how noticeable the area, it can mean re-sanding and starting over. If you find yourself in this situation (or in 10 years time when you want to refinish your floors again) look for mesh screen sanding discs, about 120 grit (if I recall correctly) and it will make short work of stripping off the varnish without gouging the wood underneath so that you can quickly re-coat.
Anyway, it seems you are on track. Stick with a light sand (always keeping in mind that a coat of varnish is best measured in microns, not millimeters)
When you see the slight scratches and haze from the 240 grit, , don't worry. The varnish will self level to the surface prepared for it and will fill in the very minor imperfections left by sanding grain.
If there are bits of the surface bothering you, chances are that once the room is repopulated with furniture you will never notice them again. Personally, I find the imperfections part of the charm of refinished pine.
Anyway, it seems you are on track. Stick with a light sand (always keeping in mind that a coat of varnish is best measured in microns, not millimeters)
When you see the slight scratches and haze from the 240 grit, , don't worry. The varnish will self level to the surface prepared for it and will fill in the very minor imperfections left by sanding grain.
If there are bits of the surface bothering you, chances are that once the room is repopulated with furniture you will never notice them again. Personally, I find the imperfections part of the charm of refinished pine.
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Yes, exactly the sort of product. The mesh does a good job of taking down the varnish without clogging up. By helping to ensure that it doesn't clog up, you are less likely to get a high spot. High spots become hot spots. Hot spots then start to fuse hard and can then gouge into the surface. The mesh clears easily so rarely has a problem, especially if you go gently, keeping minimal pressure and just let the machine do the work.
The link /site you chose is for a smaller Bona edging disc, but search "mesh" on that same site and you will see that they supply up to full size discs that you would use with a full size rotary machine of any make.
And, speaking of Bona ... they do great stuff. Last floor I did I hired everything from HSS only to find out that my neighbor's good friend (a retired property developer) had a lockup with two sets of Bona equipment I could have borrowed (arghhh). Anyway, your profile shows you in London; next floor I do if I can't borrow the equipment I just ran a web search and it is easy enough to hire in London (delivered to you door even).
The link /site you chose is for a smaller Bona edging disc, but search "mesh" on that same site and you will see that they supply up to full size discs that you would use with a full size rotary machine of any make.
And, speaking of Bona ... they do great stuff. Last floor I did I hired everything from HSS only to find out that my neighbor's good friend (a retired property developer) had a lockup with two sets of Bona equipment I could have borrowed (arghhh). Anyway, your profile shows you in London; next floor I do if I can't borrow the equipment I just ran a web search and it is easy enough to hire in London (delivered to you door even).
It looks like they dont do the 150mm mesh discs although they do lots of other sizes. I did a quick search and couldn't find they mesh disc i need. Can you recommend another source?
What equipment did you hire? I Will do the rest of the house soon. which equipment should i hire for it?
> Off the top of my head, I don't see any reason that you couldn't cut down an 8" disc to fit. There is nothing magic about the edge of the disc so far as I am aware.
> I've always wound up using the bog standard drum and edging sanders available from hire shops e.g. HSS (although I often source the paper from elsewhere). And, I've generally only seen the same sort of equipment in the UK and in the US.
> Only recently did I become aware of the fancier machines and that they might be available for hire to the DIY market. I suggest that you have a general browse of Bona floor care machines. Bona are flooring specialists.
For the sanders, there is a London hire company here: http://www.floorsanderhirelondon.co.uk/. Note: I have nothing to do with these companies.
What I like is that the larger Bona rotary sander is more like a floor polishing/ buffer machine and I suspect that will give a superior result on floors that have already flattened and just need (final) surface (re) finishing. When it comes time to refinish my floors, I will probably hire one of these.
They seem to have better dust extraction, but I wouldn't get too optimistic about that until I experienced it for myself.
I guess another advantage of hiring one of the Bona machines -- as opposed to hiring from an HSS type shed -- is that you are more likely to be able to get knowledgeable floor specific advice than from the general hire company.
> I've always wound up using the bog standard drum and edging sanders available from hire shops e.g. HSS (although I often source the paper from elsewhere). And, I've generally only seen the same sort of equipment in the UK and in the US.
> Only recently did I become aware of the fancier machines and that they might be available for hire to the DIY market. I suggest that you have a general browse of Bona floor care machines. Bona are flooring specialists.
For the sanders, there is a London hire company here: http://www.floorsanderhirelondon.co.uk/. Note: I have nothing to do with these companies.
What I like is that the larger Bona rotary sander is more like a floor polishing/ buffer machine and I suspect that will give a superior result on floors that have already flattened and just need (final) surface (re) finishing. When it comes time to refinish my floors, I will probably hire one of these.
They seem to have better dust extraction, but I wouldn't get too optimistic about that until I experienced it for myself.
I guess another advantage of hiring one of the Bona machines -- as opposed to hiring from an HSS type shed -- is that you are more likely to be able to get knowledgeable floor specific advice than from the general hire company.
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